Seas Events (season 3: 25-30)
Return to Seas of Adventure
Session 25: A Crew in Search of a Ship (28 Mafeeti 787 to 8 Napay 787)
In Port Talp, recruitment day goes into full swing. In attendance are a faction of the crew of the Riptide that have decided after several years to find a new ship. Valdis, Gabriel, and Rin walk the docks looking for a new ship. On their way, they find Claude who follows they. After some searching, they settle on a ship named the Pride of the Rose. During their walk, the floating Claude attracts the attention of a elven sailor also looking for a new job. Chase decides to join the same crew. Also joining them on the ship are Falcon, Gnearly, and Veronica.
For several days, they collect supplies and get used to the new crew. Captain Ispolis gets everything in order. Rin is made First Mate; Valdis Ship's Master, Claude the Quartermaster, and Chase a Midshipman. The day they are scheduled to leave, disaster almost aborts the mission of all of the corsairs as a tsumani rolls towards the docks. The city's mages and clerics manage to defeat the wave before any ship is destroyed. The ships immediately set sail. Two days out, more danger arrives as all of the ships are set upon by pirates. In the case of the Prise, two average sized ships bare down on it.
Session 26:
The Pride of the Rose is Tested by Pirates (8 Napay 787 to 11 Napay
787)
As the pirates approach, the captain and crew decide on a course of action. After discussion, they decide that Rin will go out and try to disable one ship while the Pride races past the other. Rin heads off with Tsunami and the rest of the crew prepares the ship.
As they near, the crew and Rin see that the ships are both part of the Viper Fleet, one of the Duo-tio-Shelleshe's fleets. Rin heads towards the Silver Viper. Once there, she uses Clauade's paste to eat a hole in the hull. When the crew sees her, they attack, but she flees. The Silver Viper slows, turns, and begins to fire at the Pride with little impact. The Pride sails towards the Blue Viper, and Rin moves that way as well.
Once at the ship, Rin makes a hole to enter and climbs on to the gun deck. About the same time, yet not coordinated, Chase casts an amplify on the Viper ship. Long range cannon fire is exchanged as the ships near to little effect. When Rin gets aboard the gun deck, she is greeted by a whip wielding pirate. She fires arrows at the cannon crew to slow them, but then is whipped. The amplified sound of the whip deafens and stuns almost everyone below deck. Above deck, the Pride begins to attack the Viper with bolts and spells. The initial assault goes to the Pride as even the grenade that reaches them is nullified by Claude's blessings.
As the ships begin to pass, and it looks like the Pride will escape, things turn sour. The Viper crew is finally able to launch bolts, arrows, and spells. Pride crew are hurt, the deck is lit on fire, officers are poisoned. Rin is forced off the ship by attacks. As the ships separate farther, the Viper is finally able to unleash a volley of cannon fire. The pride gets hit but survives. Rin, back aboard the Pride returns fire with arrows, forcing the Viper crew at that distance to hide. Before the Pride can get away, another cannon volley slam the ships, nearly destroying the aft castle. Several crew are wounded badly, and two including Gnearly are killed.
Working fast and hard, the crew manage to patch up the holes with the use of Claude's blessings. Chase has Rin deliver a magic token to one of the Viper ships which anchors it down; and she delivers some of Claude's paste to the other to destroy its rudder. The Pride narrowly escapes. After three somber and sober days, they run into a storm and spot some winged creatures.
Session 27: Did Claude Bring Them or Save the Ship From Them (11 Napay 787 to 21 Napay 787)
The winged creatures
circle for several minutes before descending. Two long blue scaled creatures that Claude and Rin identify as thunderheads. The crew prepares, with the captain ordering most below deck. Rin, Claude, Chase, Gabriel and his team, Ritvali, Cheenan, Thermon, Parker, the doctor, and few others are on the deck. Chase scares one of the two off but the other hits the deck. Claude's flag keep everyone from fleeing in fear and he steps in a beheads the creature that had been wounded by the others' arrows and
bolts.
Tsunami warns Rin of danger below and moments later a true blue dragon emerges and goes after Claude. Prepared for such an assault, Claude cannot be held and ignores its breath. The other thunderhead tries but fails to damage the ship as the others shot at it. The dragon deafens Chase as the brave crew attack it. Gabriel hits it in the face with a shot from the swivel gun. Claude chops away at it. Unable to harm Claude enough and taking attacks from all sides, it flees below water, but Claude follows. The dragon takes a different turn, flying out of the water and away. The crew takes shots at it again through the dark and rain. Gabriel reaches and fires a cannon, but misses. Rin hits it from an extreme distance, again forcing it beneath the waves but farther than Claude can reach.
The crew is in awe of Claude and for the next few days celebrate him. The ship sees many islands and after ten days see one that the captain decides to investigate.
Session 28: Finding
a Pirate Isle (21 Napay 787 to 23 Progonust
787)
The ship begins a search for islands that the captain thinks could have a hidden Shelleshe base. After several days, the find an island that the captain wants to investigate. Ispolis and several others go ashore and investigate, sending messages back via animals. The first night, the crew on the ship sees a Shelleshe ship of the Watcher fleet sail away. They do not pursue and do not think they are seen.
The next day, many of the crew are in the surf fishing and relaxing when Claude senses danger. They call the crew back and begin to prepare and search. For over an hour, they find no signs but Claude is still sensing danger. Finally, Valdis suggests to search the crew that had been off ship. Claude prepares spells and investigates. He realizes one of them is a polymorphed dragon and goes to prepare spells to attack it. Before he is finished, a boom stuns many of the crew. Several run to battle stations. When Claude comes back to the deck, he spots the crewman dragon climbing the mast.
He calls out and they begin to attack the creature. It makes no attempt to fight but rather tears Claude's flag off the mast and flies away; escaping despite everyone's efforts to stop it. They report what has happened to the captain on the island.
The away party finds a Shelleshe base and a constructed canal leading into the island. They decide to sail away and leave a small group on the island to alert them when the Shelleshe Watcher ship returns. Chase, Falcon, Felji, and Lander are picked to remain. They set up a plan to delay the Shellesge when they return to give the Pride time to make it back and trap the ship.
For a month, the ship sails around and the four wait and plan on the island. Finally, the Watched fleet ship returns and they report that to the ship.
Session 29: Capturing
a Watcher Ship (23 Progonust 787 to 24 Progonust
787)
Description in prose by Chase:
The scouting party was sly, noting everything by eye.
Messages were sent away, the Pride to arrive in less than a day.
The pirate ship docked, our attention was locked.
Crew and supplies brought to shore, our anticipation growing more and more.
Friendly boarding party arrives via stealth, not giving the pirates time to hide their wealth.
Giant croc goes crash, frightened Horarians go splash, Valdis' axe goes smash.
Fire breathing lizard, impaled innards.
Pirates overwhelmed, cowards flee the helm.
Captain captured, Chase's charms enrapture.
Nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, the pirate crew surrenders to the Pride.
Session 30: Defeating
a Two Head Viper Attack (24 Progonust 787 to 1 Baston Sun
787)
Having taken the Viper fleet ship (the red viper to be precise), you set about a plan to capture the ship. Captain Ispolis , having come up along side the ship, yells over that he wants to get out now. "We already have a great bounty, lets take the Kakushin and the prisoners and sail to port." He collects the crew and the prisoners you have and sails away. You are left on the viper ship with those who are willing to volunteer (basically most of the PCs). Midiyro stays (katana wielding Horarian) as does Len the Doctor's Mate. No one else is willing to for one reason or another.
You sail straight, working on a plan to fix the rudder as the other Viper shadows you once they have picked up the dingy with the escaping crew of this ship. Exploring this ship, you clean out the captain's quarters and find little else. The gun deck was gutted by the fire and the lowest decks were cleaned out. Again, it seems as if the Ship's Mage, Quartermaster, and Steward were tasked with escaping and taking everything of value when something like this happens. There is a half hour of down time as the ships are more or less stopped picking up people before the chase begins. Those on the gun deck have been cleaned of stuff.
The Pride and the Orca sail at a distance and watch, the sun is still an hour or more away. The Silver Viper come alongside your Viper, sailing parallel and waiting. You take stock and find the cannon to be mostly fouled, with most repairable given the right crew and materials. Ispolis took the lesser captured crew (only six), while allowing you to keep the captain. With the sun going to rise in a half hour, the other Viper ship begins to fire upon your viper and close. As they begin to fire, Tsunami comes under attack from swarms of vipers. At a distance, through a spyglass, you can see preparations being made on the other viper. There crew along with the surviving crew of this ship are on deck, readying for battle. You see four ogre sized creatures on their deck as well.
Sensing the pressure and realizing that it is unlikely you can reach Port Talp with the ship intact, you make the decision to scuttle the ship and get back to the Pride. You find a dingy and begin to load up on the side away from the other viper ship. You explode the remaining powder on the bottom deck, blowing a hole. You spend five minutes cutting everything and smashing everything else. You carry away everything you can and get the dingy. The other viper ship does not give chase. In the distance, as the sun begins to rise. One of the crew spots a flag run up the mast of the other viper ship. The flag is in red and purple and has to characters on it:
復讐
Isyawi says, "That means vengeance. They are swearing an oath to take vengeance upon us." This unnerves many of the crew as the Shelleshe oath of vengeance is always carried out; according the sailing lore. Most of those that are unnerved eventually calm themselves, but some make it clear they will not get on the ship again after you reach Port Talp.You reach the Orca and take control of the ship from Lewis. Two days later, you reach Port Talp on the 3rd day of the 12th month of 787. The city looks fine. There are three other corsair ships in port.
